1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a technical field of an information processing system for controlling, from an information processing apparatus such as a computer or the like, a plurality of other information processing apparatuses, such as a scanner, a printer, a facsimile and the like, to thereby perform the information processes suitable for the other information processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an information processing system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses, such as a scanner, a printer, a facsimile and the like, are controlled by an information processing apparatus such as a computer or the like, to thereby perform the information processes.
In this type of information processing system, for the sake of such a configuration that one computer controls various types of information processing apparatuses, it is necessary to perform function settings corresponding to respective information processing apparatuses as targets for the control by the computer.
For example, not only the function setting is required when the information processing apparatus as the target for the control is changed from the scanner to the printer, but also the function setting is required again when the information processing apparatus as the target for the control is changed from one type of scanner to another type of scanner which have different reading functions from each other even if both of them are the scanners.
However, when connecting many information processing apparatuses to one computer to thereby perform the information processes, there may be such a case that the change of the function setting is frequently required. This results in a problem that an operability becomes complex and unusable, since a user of the computer must check a type of the information processing apparatus as the target for the control each time when performing the function setting.
In order to solve this problem, an information processing system may be proposed in which the function setting on the computer side is automated. However, in this case, in case of connecting the scanner to the computer for example, if preparing a control program of the computer to finely switch over between the function settings for different types of scanners to the computer, the program becomes complex. This results in a problem that vast times and labors are spent to prepare the control program. In this case, even if the information processing apparatuses as the targets for the control themselves are the same kind (e.g., the scanner), when countries where the information processing apparatuses are installed are different from each other, the function settings of the information processing apparatuses are also different between respective countries, such as a detection of a tone signal on a telephone line, for example. If individually preparing the control programs so as to deal with the usage conditions of the respective information processing apparatuses in order to control all of the information processing apparatuses by use of one computer, the complexity is further increased.
On the other hand, if trying to deal with various kinds of information processing apparatuses by use of one control program, there may happen such a case that the function settings of the computer do not meet with the functions of processing the information in the information processing apparatuses. This results in a problem that the user of the computer may be confused.